The Importance of Blogging12/6/2007 8:59:24 PMJust because you don't get any responses doesn't mean no one is reading them.My blogging earned me an all-expenses paid trip to the Hallmark Headquarters in Kansas City (in October) to give feedback on their new line of greeting cards.

Following this wonderful and highly educational experience, I have drawn a few conclusions about blogging:

1) If you like to write and have something relevant to say, then say it. Just because you don’t get any responses to your post doesn’t mean no one is reading them.

2) Share your blog with others. Let your friends, family members and email contact list know what you’re writing about and where they can find what you’ve written. I’ve discovered that my email friends will pass on my blog link to “their” friends if it’s a subject matter they think they’d be interested in.

3) Maintain a blog on your website. Make your website a one-stop-shopping kind of site where the readers can see everything you have to offer in a non-cluttered way.

4) Maintain separate blogs for separate trains of thought (optional). If you’re an author, devote one blog to your work and use other blogs to express different subject matters. You may want to use one blog to give your reaction to the news of the day and another to share something feelings, etc.

5) Visit other blogs and comment on them. Find other blogs that interest you and offer a comment from time to time. Also, invite the blogger to visit your site sometime.

6) Allow readers to get to know more about you---whether it's personal or professional. If you love to cook, write your favorite recipes. If you sell cosmetics, provide some tips ('cause Lord knows I need those tips!) I've actually sold quite a few books as a result of some of my posts---especially when I write excerpts from a chapter.

Out of the thousands of bloggers who write about baby boomers, I was honored to have been chosen and now I’m even more committed to sharing my thoughts about Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age.

Next time, I'll share with you some of the "boomer blogs" I really like!